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Feeling Thankful in Portland

2015-10-30 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:56 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Books & writing) · mode: Personal essay · tags: on location

Hank, thankful in Portland, says his Benghazi explainer was well received though outrage would have drawn more views, and argues a platform should be used to do good, such as defusing partisan fear, rather than only to grow.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting from a Portland hotel room; comic musing on whether he is in Portland or in the space between his neurons

  • ★ From a 14th-floor Portland hotel room, Hank muses whether he is really in Portland or just in the space between his neurons. (playful) — 00:00:02

00:00:31 — With the Welcome to Night Vale creators as their book debuts at number four on the New York Times best-seller list

  • ★★ Hank says the Welcome to Night Vale creators' book just came out and debuted at number four on the NYT list, number four because Sparks, Rowling and Grisham had new books. — 00:00:38 · The New York Times
  • ★★ Hank was with Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink, eating Chinese crepes from a Portland food cart, when they learned of the ranking; it was good to see that happen to a person. — 00:00:53

00:01:07 — Thanks for comments; the Benghazi video's reception; outrage would get more views; what a platform is for; defusing fear of the other half of America

  • ★★ Hank is thankful for great comments on recent videos; his Benghazi video, despite hate, had an amazing like-to-dislike ratio, showing real interest in such content. — 00:01:07
  • ★★★ Hank says a version about getting riled up at how evil the other side is, the rhetoric people really use, would have gotten more views. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ Hank says 300,000 views is a tremendous amount, influence that high-school or college Hank could only have dreamed of. — 00:01:54
  • ★★★ Hank asks whether growing a bigger platform is the only goal and says doing things bad for people and culture just to get a bigger audience is not worth it; use the platform for good. — 00:02:02
  • ★★★ Hank thinks content that removes the charge and the fear of the other 50% of Americans from political discourse would be extremely valuable. (hedged) — 00:02:39

00:02:52 — Thanks for comments on John's YouTube Red video; Hank tries YouTube Red; why he never uses ad blockers

  • ★★ Hank thanks everyone who left positive, constructive, fascinating comments on John's YouTube Red video. — 00:02:52
  • ★★ Hank has installed YouTube Red on the 30-day free trial and loves having no ads: 'just me and my subscriptions'. — 00:03:00
  • ★★ Hank understands why people install ad blockers but has never done so, because ads are literally how he pays his employees. — 00:03:13 · online advertising

00:03:27 — Inspired and lucky to make things people like; sign-off; too much pizza

  • ★★ Hank says he is inspired to make things he finds cool and interesting that people will like, all they ever wanted to do, and they are lucky to get to do it. (hedged) — 00:03:27
  • ★ Hank ate a lot of pizza before filming and feels less than great. (playful) — 00:03:48

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: moral outrage

Also: People: J. K. Rowling · Jeffrey Cranor · John Grisham · Joseph Fink · Nicholas Sparks

Works: Welcome to Night Vale (novel)

Organizations: The New York Times

Concepts: ad blocking · online advertising · political polarization

Places: Portland, Oregon

Events: 2012 Benghazi attack

Products: YouTube Red

Only in the description or credits: Welcome to Night Vale

Also centred on moral outrage: Addicted to Outrage · Crime and Outrage · Ending the Age of Outrage (at least in ourselves, if not in the world) · I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift · I'm Scared of 2024...So Here's 3 Optimistic Thoughts · The People I Hate Most in the World

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